Archive By Author - Fraser Speaks

Debate continued at Kershaw County Council's meeting Tuesday over funding for emergency situations. At its last meeting, council passed first reading of an ordinance that would amend the county's procurement code to account for emergency funding. The amendment allows County Administrator Vic Carpenter to expend up to $25,000 for emergency purposes as long as he informs council of the purchase. Any such funding over the $25,000 limit would have to go to council for a vote.

There are few things more startling than seeing the face of an infamous bomber on the cover of your favorite publication (ex-favorite publication, I should add). When I pick up an issue of Rolling Stone magazine, I expect to see a well-known artist or up and coming one, not the face of a terrorist. But, not the latest issue. Instead, Rolling Stone chose to decorate its latest cover with the face of accused Boston bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The United Way of Kershaw County (UWKC) hopes to secure an extended lease for the Holsten Center, which also houses Department of Social Services and Medicaid offices. The UWKC is awaiting word on the lease from Kershaw County Council, which is slated to make a decision at its Aug. 6 meeting.

Kershaw County Council spent time during a special work session Thursday discussing two items. One of those items was a request from Palmetto Utilities President Stan Jones. The request involves Palmetto Utilities applying for a permit to allow wastewater to be discharged into Spears Creek rather than the Wateree River. The move would place the discharge adjacent to an already established Palmetto Utilities treatment plant there.

I'm not completely sure who said it, but I frequently hear the quote "life begins at the end of your comfort zone" posted anywhere from social media sites to scrawled on the covers of journals. I've always had issues with doing things alone. Not necessarily that I have issues being alone but more along the lines of eating at a restaurant or seeing a movie in theatres; things that I'd prefer to do with another person or a group of people. I have no qualms in shopping alone or doing other activities independently but outings such as ...

Many of Kershaw County's contribution agencies were able to rest easy after Tuesday's Kershaw County Council meeting. After failing to pass as an amendment to the fiscal year 2013-14 budget during the third reading at the previous meeting, council passed an amendment reinstating funding to the county's contribution agencies."

Once again, the water levels at Lake Wateree have been higher than normal. Beginning Friday, Duke Energy began releasing updates on the situation. Duke Energy first said that the lake level was not expected to exceed 100 feet, but the number changed rapidly and Duke now says the lake level is not expected to exceed 102.5 feet. Though Duke does not expect the levels to exceed that amount, it does expect it to stay around 102 feet for at least several days due to a rainy forecast for the remainder of the week as well as the basin's ...

I recently received an article consisting of a list pinpointing how my generation is different than previous generations. The article was written by Jeff Janssen and within the article he referenced a book called Millennials Go to College by Neil Howe and William Strauss. The generation I am part of is commonly referred to as "the Millennials" and includes those born anywhere from 1980 to the present. The makers of the list came up with seven primary ways in which the millennial generation is significantly different. Those seven aspects were: special, sheltered, confident, team-oriented, conventional, pressured and achieving. The most ...

I've always been one of those people who is "really into music." I don't mean that I can play an instrument (although I did take years of piano) or carry a tune. I mean that I just really, really love music. Second to writing and reading, it's probably one of my favorite, I guess you could say, hobbies. I love songs with lyrics, I love songs without lyrics, I pretty much just love any song that evokes feelings. Any sort of feeling. That's what's so amazing to me about it. Music has the ability to ...

A practice known as "Chinese overtime" will continue at the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) for the foreseeable future. As part of its vote on the county's Fiscal Year 2014 budget Tuesday, Kershaw County Council declined to provide the KCSO with additional funding to end the practice of paying deputies approximately half-time for each hour of overtime they work."

I recently spent a weekend in the Appalachian Mountains with a few friends. Upon arrival, we all noticed one disturbing thing: no cell phone reception. I'm talking maybe one bar of service in one spot in the backyard, slim to no luck with getting one in town and the scary "NO SERVICE" notice among the hiking trails. Basically, for the weekend, we realized we had no access to some of the things we value the most. No Facebook. No Twitter updates. No posting pictures to Instagram. And you better believe there was no way of loading Snapchat. As we ...